MORRISTOWN, N.J. -
Former Washington State running backs Rueben Mayes and Clarence "Clancy" Williams, along with former football coach William "Lone Star" Dietz, are among the 77 players and seven coaches who comprise the 2006 Division I-A ballot for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, the National Football Foundation (NFF) announced.

The trio, all members of the WSU Hall of Fame, is on a ballot that was mailed to the more than 12,000 NFF members. Their votes will be tabulated and submitted to the NFF's Honors Court, which deliberates and selects the class. The Hall of Fame Class will be announced May 16 and inducted at the National Football Foundation's 49th annual Awards Dinner, Dec. 5. They will be officially enshrined at the Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., during the summer of 2007.

By the end of his distinguished four-year Cougar career Mayes (1982-85) held numerous WSU rushing records and several Pacific-10 Conference and NCAA marks. Twice Mayes was honored by the Pac-10 coaches as the conference's outstanding offensive player. As a junior he came out of nowhere to finish 10th in the Heisman Trophy balloting.

Mayes burst onto the national scene in 1984. In back-to-back games he rushed for 216 yards at Stanford and then an NCAA, Pac-10 and WSU record 357 yards at Oregon. His two-game total of 573 yards also set NCAA, Pac-10 and WSU records. Mayes earned numerous All-America honors his final two seasons at WSU and in the process set more than a dozen records, including 3,519 rushing yards, 23 career touchdowns rushing and 26 in all, 13 games with more than 100 yards rushing, and 4,418 all-purpose yards.

From WSU, Mayes went on to star in the National Football League. Drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the third round in 1986, he was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1986 and 1987 and won numerous NFL rookie-of-the-year honors.

A star with the Cougars from 1962 to 1964, Williams went on to an outstanding career with the Los Angeles Rams as a cornerback for eight seasons. A 1964 first-team All-America pick by AP, NEA and the Football Writers of America, Williams played in the 1965 Hula Bowl and East-West Shrine games. At the end of his WSU career, Williams finished second in career rushing (1,456 yards), kickoff returns (719 yards) and second in single season rushing (783 yards) in 1964. During his senior year, Williams led the team in rushing, scoring, total offense, pass receptions, punt returns and kickoff returns.

Dietz had a fantastic career as WSU's football coach from 1915 through 1917, winning 17, losing only two, with one tie. His teams shut out 15 of 19 opponents in those three seasons. In his very first season he guided WSU to the Rose Bowl and a 14-0 shutout of Ivy League foe Brown. That team won seven straight and allowed just one touchdown and one field goal all year, en route to posting five shutouts.

A year later WSU was 4-2 and in 1917 he finished his career with the Cougars at 6-0-1. In 1919, as coach of the Mare Island (Calif.) Marines, he returned to the Rose Bowl against the Great Lakes Naval Training Station. Dietz was a teammate at Carlisle College of the immortal Jim Thorpe and was coached by Glenn "Pop" Warner.

A complete list of the names on the ballot can be found at www.collegefootball.org